Was your DD one of the students who visited the Friday before Capstone Scholar’s Day? If I’m remembering correctly, that was the same crazy day that I brought my nephew!
For those who don’t know, Bama suddenly had hundreds of students show up that Friday before CSDay…some that the HC knew about (like my nephew and I think Beth and DD), but also a large number that the HC didnt’ know about. It was insane. The HC was completely overwhelmed. The HC office and down the hall was wall to wall visitors. Our appt with Dr. Sharpe was cancelled, student-ambassador who was supposed to show us the Col of Eng’g never showed up. The person who was supposed to meet us at lunch had the wrong time so another ambassador just sort of adopted us. lol For those who remember the very competent Jami (now with the Law School), she gave it her all that day, but getting bombed with people, particularly OOS students, wasn’t something the HC was really used to.
Since that insane day, the HC now knows to “be extra prepared” the day before CSDay (which by the way, was this weekend.)
We visited in Dec and the visit didn’t seal the deal for us. My D loved the school and all the people she met. She did not love Tuscaloosa. I don’t want to go into more detail since this is such a personal thing, but she has said more than once that she wishes she could pick the school up and move it somewhere else. That said, she liked the school so much that it is one of the two top choices that she is trying to decide between.
@me29034 Well hopefully it was just the oddness of December in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa kind of empties out in Dec because so many students have gone home, and even the locals are traveling to visit relatives for the holidays.
And some people prefer big metropolitan cities, and Tuscaloosa is more of moderate sized city (100,000 population).
If I remember correctly, your DD’s other choice is UPitt? is that correct? Does she prefer the urban environment?
Are you OOS for both schools? Did your DD qualify for any merit from Alabama or Pitt?
@mom2collegekids Yes her other choice is Pitt. She prefers the big city environment but did not get merit $ there and did not get into the honors college. Pitt is still affordable for us without the merit, though of course we prefer cheaper. So Alabama has advantage of honors college, better weather and it’s less expensive. She also really likes the Blount Initiative which she has applied to. Pitt seems to have more attractive courses in her major and one possibility for double majoring that she is really excited about. It also has the big city environment that she wants and more housing for upperclassmen which she likes. but it will cost more and she will just be one of the crowd there. She keeps going back and forth on which one is better.
@mom2collegekids We are aware of the OOS costs of Pitt and can afford it. We have told her that if she chooses Alabama we will give her the difference for grad school or maybe to help buy a house, but it is her choice to make.
Back to the subject of the thread, Tuscaloosa is big enough that there is lots of traffic and you really need a car to get around. This is especially important as you only really live on campus for one year. She didn’t like that and that’s why the trip didn’t sell her. Pitt, on the other hand, is right in the city with no need for a car. Pitt students get to use city buses for free with their ID so the entire city is accessible without having to drive.
I hope that as more and more students come from OOS, there will be better transportation options outside of campus…perhaps with expanding The Crimson Ride to more frequent off-campus trips to shopping areas, etc. I think that currently the shopping route is only on Sundays.
Some of the off-campus student apts have trams that take students to campus. I don’t know if those same trams also have routes to shopping and other areas.
That said, there are student apts that are easily within walking distance to shops. The Lofts not only has a small grocery store in its parking lot, but another one is across the street, with lots of other shops as well.
^^^
Yes, it was chaotic that day! That was a few years ago (Jan 14, 2011) and thankfully, the HC learned a valuable lesson from that one crazy day.
If I remember correctly, it had also snowed a good bit that week! It was that huge Blizzard that impacted the nation! Several inches of accumulation in Tuscaloosa which is rare. Most had melted by that Friday, but it all just added to the drama of the visit.
I also wish that there was more upperclassman on campus housing. Especially with so many oos students! I think that It is a major drawback amongst numerous positive points. In the alternative, the school shuttle should travel later and more often to of campus sites. 6pm is just not late enough.
I would certainly address the issue of having later shuttles with each individual apartment complex management company. If multiple students/parents from each complex voice a request, perhaps they would accommodate with later shuttles.
There are students who do manage without a car for four years, having a a bike, and not being adverse to walking is key. This is a great way to keep off that dreaded fifteen. Walking into downtown or all over campus shouldn’t be a problem. Your student can also see if a roommate or friend has a vehicle and perhaps they can ride share for food shopping. Of course, never take advantage but you can usually barter for a ride…pay gas, buy lunch, share Sam’s Club Membership privileges…or something like that. However, shopping is easy if you use the Publix on the edge of campus where I find that the prices are similar to my hometown. There are also Crimson Ride routes for shopping on the weekend. An occasional taxi ride or Zipcar rental shouldn’t break the bank either, especially if you are saving on home car insurance, with your student at the university.
DS is a freshman second semester. Has taken quite a few honors classes already so he tells me they are small class sizes and lots of discussion. Only the biggies like some of the 101 classes are big but the labs are more intimate. For some reason UA has a small hometown feel. I was shocked at the enrollment numbers because frankly walking around (except on game days) you just don’t see that.
I would agree about the feel. I kept thinking as I was walking around during our visit on 1/25/16 was that there do not seem to be many students milling about for a campus of 35K students. Not a lot of crowds except at the Starbucks in the Ferguson Center.